2 Oct 2015

Same sh^t, different game. Despite spending £300m in three years, Liverpool's expensively assembled squad has once again failed to beat third-rate opposition at home. The Reds have now failed to win 15 of the last 21 games (71%), which is nowhere near good enough.

Player Ratings

* Mignolet(5): Too slow off his line for the goal, and beaten at his near-post yet again after a feeble attempt at making a save. Bogdan should've started tonight; there was no need for Mignolet to play.

*Gomez(5): Positionally suspect at times, and left a huge gap on the left side of defence for the goal. Like so many others, though, Gomez is being played out of position.

*Toure(6): Generally solid for much of the game, but not much in the way of positive, forward distribution.

* Clyne (5.5): Gave the ball away in midfield, which indirectly led to the goal, but Liverpool still had time to rescue the situation. Inexplicably subbed-off at half time, which is (IMO) horrible man-management from Rodgers, as it looks like he's punished Clyne - one LFC's most consistent players this season - for the mistake.

* Ibe (4): Another poor game, but it's hardly surprising considering he was played out of position again. A player like Ibe should not be spending most of his time defending. Rodgers has (arguably) destroyed the young attacker's confidence, and that was evident from his negative attacking play for much of the game. That said, Ibe is painfully predictable going forward, and he needs more variety in his approach play. 20 hours of football now without a goal.

* Can (5): Sorry, I just don't see the point of Can. He looks majestic when in full flight with the ball, but keeping one's hair looking immaculate whilst running at speed doesn't win games. The German's end product is negligible, and he's prone to at least one extremely rash tackle per game.

* Rossiter (7): Tidy performance. Consistently retained possession, and sprayed the ball about well, including a couple of pinpoint cross-field passes. If Rossiter is being groomed as a defensive midfielder, then he's on the right path, but he doesn't appear to have much attacking impetus.

* Allen (5.5): Frustrating performance from a player Rodgers' recently described as 'incredible'. Gave the ball away cheaply throughout the match, and often dawdled in possession, but also produced a couple of excellent forward passes.

Lallana (7): Liverpool's main attacking threat for much of the game, but that's often the case with Lallana when Liverpool play comparatively poor opposition. Scored a nice goal, but wasted a few more great chances. Clearly, Bordeax/Sion is Lallana's level.

* Ings (5): Lots of huff and puff (as usual) from 'fantastic' Ings, but little discernible attacking impact. As I've argued before, Ings is the attacking version of James Milner: lots of running, stamina etc (both of which should be a given) but little in the way of consistent creative impact.

* Origi (5.5): Started brightly, and made some effective runs into the box, and created Liverpool's first goal. Faded badly after that, though, and guilty of wasting a couple of gilt-edged chance. A natural goalscorer he 'aint, and it won't surprise me in the slightest to see Origi go out on loan.

* Rodgers (3): Typical Rodgers, really. Started an unbalanced the team by needlessly selecting Ibe as a wing-back instead of Moreno. Then, replaced Clyne with Moreno at half time, and shunted Ibe into the right wing-back position. Surely a straight Ibe/Moreno swap made more sense? Not in the Bizarro world in which Rodgers exists. Later, with Liverpool needing the win, Rodgers took off Ings, and reverted to the failed strategy of playing one up-front. Emre Can also changed positions three times (!). It's an utter farce, and the fact that Liverpool can't beat a a team as comparatively poor as Sion (at home) is another reason why Rodgers needs to go.